The present invention relates generally to wireless electronic and electromechanical locks, and more particularly to methods for registering stand-alone locks by associating stand-alone lock IDs with end user accounts.
Many wireless locks operate by validating a digital credential provided by a user. In some cases this credential may be provided with the lock. More complex systems and systems with improved security, however, typically do not use static credentials, and may associate a single credential with multiple locks. In such systems, digital credentials are commonly assigned to users by an authentication system (usually operated by a lock vendor or large institution). Such systems may associate locks with individual users or with user groups, or may collectively associate groups of locks with users. Users are typically authenticated to a particular account by means of some unique identifier, such as an incoming phone number, an account ID, an account password, or some combination of such information. Authentication systems provide credentials only to users authorized to access the wireless lock.
Locks are typically programmed with user information and associated with a user account in a factory or at a trusted facility, prior to shipping to a known end user. This practice is not practical where the end user is not known when a lock is manufactured and packaged. To handle such situations, some conventional systems require users to submit a serial number via a portal, so as to associate themselves or their organization with the lock. A few such systems further utilize one-time passwords unique to each lock as means of proving ownership. Conventional methods neither prove nor require that a user have actual possession of the lock. Serial numbers can be copied, and passwords can be communicated; a lock registration method is needed which proves actual possession, and rightful purchase and ownership of the lock.